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ArushiSF met Base founders Zach Dell (@ZachBDell) and JLopas in Austin in April…

Brief

Base (founded three years ago) launched Base Core and announced a $1B Series D that values the company at $13B, positioning the startup to scale home batteries and expand across the electric stack. Base Core is a ~40 kWh home battery—about three times the size of typical consumer systems—promising up to 36 hours of backup for an average home, a novel generator port to recharge from a portable generator during multi-day outages, and onshore manufacturing at Base Factory 1 in Austin. The product evolved from operational lessons as installs rose from ~1/day in June 2024 to ~100/day in June 2026. The round is co-led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor, and JPMorgan with several new and existing investors. ArushiSF, who met the founders in April 2024 and began working with their team, credits them with sharpening her mission to support socially minded infrastructure founders and praises their public presentation in DC.

Why it matters

ArushiSF met Base founders Zach Dell (@ZachBDell) and JLopas in Austin in April 2024, began working with their team soon after, says they 'galvanized' her mission to support founders building social infrastructure and that their work 'enables a massive ROI for America'; she watched Zach present recently in DC and wrote she 'watched my first founder eat the scenery.'

Key details

  • Base announced Base Core and a $1B Series D round that values the company at $13B; the round is co-led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor, and JPMorgan, with new investors D1, Sands, Coatue, Layer Global, Energy Impact Partners, and re-investment from existing backers including Thrive, Altimeter, Lightspeed, a16z, CapitalG, and Trust.
  • Base Core is a Texas-designed-and-built home battery of ~40 kWh (about 3x the size of most home batteries), claims up to 36 hours of backup for the average home, includes a first-of-its-kind generator port to recharge from a portable generator during multi-day outages, and is built to withstand Texas summers and Chicago winters at Base Factory 1 in Austin.
  • Operational growth drove product strategy: Base moved from ~1 install/day in June 2024 to ~100 installs/day in June 2026; Zach frames the company strategy as technology + vertical integration + 'Base Pace' execution to build across the electric stack, serve rising AI electricity demand, and deepen utility partnerships.
Source evidence

@basepowerco SeriesD
I met @ZachBDell and @JLopas in Austin in April 2024, began working with their team almost immediately. They galvanized my mission statement to support founders who want to build social infrastructure for the right reasons. Their work enables a massive ROI for America. Zach came to DC a couple months ago, and I watched my first founder eat the scenery in a room full of people who barely understand the future that is already here. Congratulations.

Zach Dell (@ZachBDell)

Today, we're launching Base Core, our own battery designed & built in Texas, and announcing our $1B Series D to bring it to homes across the country.

Three years ago, we started Base with a belief that batteries were the unlock to energy abundance. We saw battery storage as the foundation of a modern energy system, and believed we could win the market with vertical integration, technology, and relentless execution (what we now call Base Pace). So we set out to build a network of distributed batteries to deliver affordable, reliable electricity to homeowners and utilities.

While the job is far from finished, the launch of Base Core is the most meaningful step in that plan. We’ve spent the last few years learning hard lessons about building a distributed battery fleet, going from 1 install per day in June of ‘24 to 100 installs per day in June of ‘26. These lessons - how the battery is shipped, installed, used, and monitored - informed the design of Core. Now, Core will be the foundation of the company's next phase of growth.

Base Core is a first-of-its-kind home battery. At ~40 kWh it is 3x the size of most home batteries, providing up to 36 hours of backup for the average home. In the event of multi-day outage, Core is equipped with a (first of its kind) generator port - pull out a small portable generator and charge the battery back up to keep your home running as long as you need. When an outage does happen, the backup is seamless - most members won't even notice the grid went down. It's built to withstand Texas summers, Chicago Winters, and everything in between. And finally, it’s manufactured by our team in Austin, at Base Factory 1, right across the street from our HQ.

This new capital will bring Core to more homes and to accelerate our ambition beyond batteries. The round is co-led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor, and JP Morgan, with participation from new major investors D1, Sands, Coatue, Layer Global, and Energy Impact Partners. All of Base’s major existing investors are re-investing, including Thrive, Altimeter, Lightspeed, a16z, CapitalG, Trust, and more. This brings our valuation to $13B.

As we enter the most important growth period in the history of the electricity industry, our mission has not changed - advance human prosperity by delivering the world's most affordable and reliable electricity. Our strategy has not changed - technology, plus vertical integration, plus relentless execution, leads to a compounding cost advantage. What has changed is the scope of our ambition - this new capital, along with the team and capabilities we've built over the last three years, positions us to build technology across the electric stack, including what it takes to serve surging demand from AI, and to deepen our partnerships with utilities as they work to meet rising demands.

Electricity is the largest and most essential industry in the world, and it does not have a defining technology company. The company that delivers the most affordable, reliable power will be one of the largest and most impactful companies in the world. We intend to build it. If you'd like to join us, reach out.

Onwards.

basepowercompany.com/core.

Video

— https://nitter.net/ZachBDell/status/2084253366838870208#m